How to: Camembert fermentation

Good vegan cheese is hard to come by. Store-bought stuff is usually sub-par and artificially flavoured, which is basically the same thing. There are some shops specialized in vegan cheese, but not anyone is lucky enough to have one close by.

The chesse we'll prepare here is cashew-based, and the water-soaked cashews will be blended to a fine mash. If you don't have a mixer that operates in the 10k rpm ball park, then you will end up with small pieces. While that does not affect the taste at all, I prefer the creamy mouth-feel. That's also why I increase the fat level to match the one of milk-based camembert. Fat tastes awesome, don't judge me!

Also, I've 3D-printed my cheese mat, mould and the covers (FreeCAD). The latter are nicely stackable when not in use, and the cheese mat is big enough for 3 camemberts. I've printed 2 of those, so I can flip the cheese easily by putting a second mat on top and turn everything over at once.

PETG is usually food-safe, but you might want to check your filament. And if you want to skip this hassle: There are plenty of shops that sell sets that include everything you need.

3D models of a cover and a cheese mat

Ingredients

• g cashews (dry, ~g soaked)
• ml water
• g coconut fat
• tbsp yeast flakes
• ml transglutaminase
• measuring cups starter culture
• measuring cups penicillium candidum

Steps

1. Soak cashews: Take g of cashews and soak them with boiling water. Let sit for a couple of hours (or over night).

2. Prepare cashew mix: Drain the cashews. Blend on max power along with

   • ml water
   • g coconut fat
   • tbsp yeast flakes

3. Cool down: Blending might heat things up a little, and both the starter culture and penicillium candidum are sensitive to heat. So let it cool down.

4. Magic 🪄: Add

   • measuring cups starter culture
   • measuring cups penicillium candidum
   • ml transglutaminase

   and mix it.

5. Fermentation: Set aside at room temperature and the fermentation do it's thing for a couple of hours (at least 4).

6. Sterilise cheesecloths: Boil the cheesecloths and wring them out. We want the good bacteria to win, so let's avoid competition!

7. Form the cheese: Place a cheesecloth over a mould, and fill it with the fermented cashew mass. Also now is the time to add green pepper, walnuts or herbs if you like. Cover it with the cheesecloth and move the cheese to the fridge for a day. Some people recommend to turn it over after half of the time, but I found this to be optional.

8. Unwrap your cheese and put it on a cheese mat. Cover it, but don't seal it air-tight. It wants to breathe a little!

9. Turn the cheese over every third day and repeat until it's ready. This takes 3-5 weeks, and the longer you wait, the more intense the taste gets.

10. Enjoy and share a pic on insta or whatever. You did it 🎉